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Zesty Orange Chicken

Oranges taste great on their own; I hardly know anyone who doesn’t like them. They are a mind-blowing combination with chocolate, second only to mint, and are used extensively in desserts. But never in a million years had I expected to fall head-over-heals in love with oranges in an entrée. I’ve been obsessed with Orange Chicken ever since I tried it some four odd years ago at a Chinese Restaurant.

Like all recipes I’m obsessed with, I tried recreating this sweet and sour concoction with a hint (subjective) of spice last weekend. After some experimentation, I got the flavor profile I was looking for; in retrospect, I should have left out a few ingredients that gave the dish some outlandish undertones, a clashing after-taste, if you may. The recipe below doesn’t include those ingredients so you should be able to enjoy a mouth-watering Orange Chicken. I strongly recommend serving this gravy with Chinese Fried Rice (leave me a comment if you want me to post a recipe).

Ingredients:

½ kg chicken (cut into one-inch cubes)

½ cup + ½ cup fresh orange juice (I used navel oranges)

½ tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp fresh orange zest

5 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)

1” cube of ginger (finely chopped)

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp chili sauce

1 tbsp white vinegar

I tsp Worcestershire sauce

¼ tsp white pepper powder

½ tsp chili flakes (optional)

½ tsp black pepper powder

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp chicken powder

1 tbsp corn flour

5-7 dried red chilies (optional – I used African bird’s eye chili)

1 tbsp peanuts (salted and roasted)

2-3 spring onion stalks (one-inch pieces)

½ green bell pepper (medium sized – cut into cubes)

1 onion (medium sized – cut into cubes)

¼ tsp MSG (a.k.a. ajino moto)

3 tbsp sesame oil

Pinch of salt (optional)

2 tsp honey (optional)

Method:

Mix chicken, black pepper and corn flour and set it aside

Heat sesame oil in a pan and add in garlic and ginger

After a minute or so, add chicken to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes

Mix in chili flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, MSG, and white pepper and let it sit for a minute

Add in ½ cup orange juice and lemon juice and let it cook for 2 minutes

Add soy sauce, chili sauce and vinegar to the chicken and cook on high flame

Once the sauces have dried out a bit, add in peanuts, dried chilies and the remaining ½ cup orange juice to it